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comprehend passages properly, he or she will be successful in answering his or her test.
I am interested in analyzing the reading comprehension’s ability of the third-grade level of students of MTs. Al-Uswah Bergas Semarang Regency
because when I taught in that school I found that the students’ abilities in the previous years were poor. It could be seen from their achievement in the four
language skills based on their test result recapitulation. There were some factors causing that low achievement such as the English teachers that taught at the
school were not qualified. It means that those teachers did not graduate from the English Department. Another factor was the students who had low motivation in
studying English.
1.2 Reasons for Choosing the Topic
There are two reasons why I chose the topic. 1.
First, the curriculum used is 1994 curriculum which required the students to reach the score above the passing grade of 4.26. The ability in mastering the
four language skills is important however I really want to know how reading comprehension would influence the students’ success.
2. Second, to find out if there is a correlation between the students’ reading
comprehension ability with their national state exam result so that the result of the research will be beneficial both for students and for teachers of English.
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1.3 Statements of the Problems
From the above description, there are two problems i.e.: 1.
To what extent is the students’ ability in reading comprehension? 2.
Does the students’ ability in comprehending the passages influence their national state exam result?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this study are: 1.
To find out the extent to which students master reading comprehension? 2.
To discover the correlation between the students’ mastery in reading comprehension and the examination result?
1.5 Limitation of the Study
In this study, I limit my research in reading comprehension. What I mean by the students here are the third-grade level of students of MTs. Al-Uswah
Bergas Semarang Regency.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The significance of this study can be described as follows: 1.
For the students It is expected that the result of the investigation will be advantageous
inputs for the English learners in general, and particularly be advantageous for
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the students of junior high schools so that those students will be able to improve their ability in learning written English materials. By improving such
capability, it is expected that the students will have better understanding of the language, which is realized by their success in doing their tests. Further, they
will be able to use the language for communicating their ideas. 2.
For the teachers It is expected that the result of the research would be useful inputs for the
teachers of English in teaching learning process especially in teaching reading materials to the students.
3. For Educational System in Indonesia
The result of this study is expected to give a valuable contribution to the development of English teaching in the school concerned.
1.7 Outline of the Study
